


The Martian and the director(s) of the China National Space Administration

by StillTryingToFly



Series: People Mark Watney needs to buy a beer [6]
Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 16:49:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5463881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StillTryingToFly/pseuds/StillTryingToFly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark Watney buys a beer for the people that gave NASA the means to save him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Martian and the director(s) of the China National Space Administration

**Author's Note:**

> This is a pretty short one but I did want to write about these two, who helped when they really had no obligation to.

Guo Ming sat at his desk with a bemused expression on his face, Zhu Tao stood before him with a placid expression on her face. Between them sat a cardboard box with two bottles nestled into a square of protective foam. There had been a note with a NASA letterhead sitting on top of the bottles, but since it was in English Tao had had a translator go over it for her. She held up the translated note for Guo Ming to see.

“It is from Mark Watney,” Zhu Tao said with the barest hint of amusement in her tone.

Guo Ming’s sense of befuddlement grew.

“Mark Watney sent us...this?” He gestured to the box on his desk.

“Yes sir,” Zhu Tao said with an unmoved expression. “Would you like to see what he wrote?”

Guo Ming sighed deeply and leaned forward to take the translation from his unflappable under-director.

**To Guo Ming and Zhu Tao**

**I have been told that I have you two to thank for the Taiyang Shen being used as a resupply probe that saved my life. In doing so you had to scrap a mission that had been in the works for years. I wanted to thank you for helping to save my life, and I hope that this was merely the beginning of an unprecedented cooperation between two space agencies.**

**-Mark Watney**

**PS Where I’m from if someone does something for you, you buy them a beer.**

**Please enjoy this one on me.**

Guo Ming looked at Zhu Tao over the top of his glasses. Zhu Tao stared back, impassive as ever.

“Americans are really weird.”

Twenty minutes later Guo Ming and Zhu Tao both had opened their gift from Mark Watney.

“I have never had American beer before,” Zhu Tao says giving the bottle a skeptical look before taking a sip.

“I have,” Guo Ming says before tipping his bottle back and taking a long swig of his beer. When he opens his eyes he can see Zhu Tao looking at him with a surprised expression on her face.

“I was in still in university, and my professor had been invited to give a speech at a  lecture in California and he wanted me to come along too. I ended up going out for drinks with some of the American students who had been at the lecture. I did not speak English and they did not know Mandarin but we still managed to have a good time that night.”

Guo Ming took another swig of his drink and settled into a comfortable silence; Zhu Tao however appeared to be lost in thought.

“I hope he’s right,” she said suddenly. When Guo Ming looked at her in confusion she clarified. “Mark Watney, I hope he’s right. I hope this was the first thing we do together, not the only thing we do together. I hope we can work together when the situation is not so dire, imagine what we could do if that were the case.”

Guo Ming smiled and tipped his bottle in her direction. “If we can, it will be the most incredible thing the world has ever seen. I suppose we can always work for a better future.”

****  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it leave a comment and tell me why; if you hated it leave a comment and tell my why.


End file.
